4 Steps in Fiber Optic Fusion splicer

by Fiber-MART.COM

Fiber Optic Fusion splicer may be the act of joining two optical fibers end-to-end using heat. The thing is to fuse both the fibers together in such a way that light passing with the fibers is not scattered or reflected back from the splice, and thus the splice as well as the region surrounding it are almost as strong because virgin fiber itself. The basic fusion splicer apparatus includes two fixtures which the fibers are mounted and two electrodes. Inspection microscope assists in the placement in the prepared fiber ends into a fusion-splicing apparatus. The fibers they fit in to the apparatus, aligned, and then fused together. Initially, fusion splicing used nichrome wire as the heating unit to melt or fuse fibers together. New fusion-splicing techniques have replaced the nichrome wire with fractional co2 (CO2) lasers, electric arcs, or gas flames to heat the fiber ends, causing them to fuse together. The little size of the fusion splice along with the development of automated fusion-splicing machines make electric arc fusion (arc fusion) the most popular splicing approaches to commercial applications.

 

Splicing fiber optic cable ends together is often a precise process with hardly any room for error. This is because the optical fiber ends must be gathered absolutely perfectly to be able to minimize potential optical loss or light leakage. Properly splicing the cable ends demands the usage of a high-tech tool called a fusion splicer. A fusion splicer perfectly mates the optical fiber ends by melting or fusing them to the other. Splicing fiber cables surpasses using connectors considering that the fusing process results in a superior connection that features a lower level of optical loss. Now,I will introducts 4 steps to fusion splicing.

 

Step1

Know that fusion splicing is essentially several optical fibers being permanently joined together by welding utilizing an an electric arc. The need for an exact cleaver is suggested should you desire less light loss and reflection problems. Understand that an excellent cleaver just for this precise work is nessary. If your poor spice is created, the fiber ends may well not melt together properly and problems can arise.

 

Step2

Prepare the fiber by stripping the coatings, jackets and tubes, ensuring only bare fiber is left showing. You will need to clean all of the fibers associated with a filling gel. A clean environment is imperative for a good connection.

 

Step3

Cutter the fiber. A great wire cutter is suggested to secure a successful splice. When fusing the fibers together, either align the fibers manually or automatic, determined by what type of fusion splicer you’ve got. When you’ve got a new proper alignment, a power arc can be used to melt the fibers together creating a permanent weld of these two fiber ends.

 

Step4

Protect the fiber with heat shrink sleeve, silicone get. This can maintain your optical fiber resistant to any outside elements it may encounter or future breakage.

 

Alternatives to fusion splicing include using fiber optic connectors or mechanical splices because both versions have higher insertion losses, lower reliability far better return losses than fusion splicing. Want to know more about fiber splicer knowledges, pls visit FiberStore.com to find your answer.

Fiber Optic Tools To Terminate Fiber Optic Cables

by Fiber-MART.COM

There are various kinds of fiber optic tools utilized in the fiber optic installation and maintenance works. And the cable stripper is a tool to remove the outside jacket from an optical fiber cable, plays an important role in the fiber optic cable splicing process.

 

A high quality fiber stripper will safely and efficiently remove the outside jacket from an optical fiber cable. Just with a highly fiber stripper of your fiber cable jacket tends to make an undamaged exposed fiber that is important for successful splicing of two optical fibers. An optical fiber stripper can help you speed up the process of performing fiber network maintenance work and avoid excessive network downtime. But do you know how to cut fiber optic cables?

 

Terminating fiber optic cables might seem complicated if you do it the first time. Follow these instructions below to understand the proper method of cutting and do the job yourself. Read on to learn the basics of cutting fiber optic cables. Your safety is of utmost importance. Wear gloves while working with fiber optic cables.

 

With the right set of tools, fiber optic cable cutting can be a very simple undertaking. Striping fiber optic cable isn’t a job for a wire stripper. You need special strippers that allow you to precisely remove the correct cable layers for the job. The tools needed for fiber terminations are fiber optic cable strippers, kevlar scissors, fiber cleavers, ST, SC, LC or MTRJ fiber optic connectors, fiber connector hand polishing puck, fiber polishing films and fiber inspection microscope.

 

1. Strip the fiber with a fiber optic stripper

 

Fiber cables come with 3mm jacket, Kevlar strength member and 0.9mm buffer coating. To get off the 0.125mm fiber cladding, you need to remove the 3mm jacket with a fiber stripper, then cut the Kevlar fibers with a Kevlar cutter, finally strip the 0.9mm buffer down to 0.125mm cladding with a fiber optic stripper.

 

2. Cleave the fiber with a fiber cleaver

 

After stripping the fiber down to 0.125mm cladding, you insert the fiber into a SC, ST or LC connector, and then inject some fiber optic epoxy into the connector with a syringe. You will then lay the connector into a hot oven to cure the fiber epoxy so it can hold the fiber tightly. After the curing process, you cleave extra fibers from the connector tip with a Fujikura cleaver.

 

3. Hand polishing the fiber

In the next step, you put the connector (already with fiber fixed inside) into a hand polishing puck, which serves as a fixture while you polish the end face of the connector to get a high quality mirror like finish. You then hold the polishing puck and polish the connector on a connector lapping film in a figure 8 shape for 10~15 times. Repeat the hand polishing steps stepping from 12um, 3um and 0.5um lapping films.

 

4. Fiber termination quality inspection

The final step is to inspect the quality of your work. You insert the finished connector into a fiber optic inspection microscope which zooms to 200 to 400 time level to show you all the scratches and pits that may exist on the connector end face. If everything looks perfect, then you can connector your fiber into the network.

How Does Fiber Identifier Work In Your Fiber Optic Network

by Fiber-MART.COM

Fiber Optical Identifier is an essential installation and maintenance instrument which can identify the optical fiber by detecting the optical signals transmitted through the cables, during this process the fiber optic identifier do no harm or damage to the fiber cable and it also don’t need opening the fiber at the splice point for identification or interrupting the service.During fiber optic network installation, maintenance, or restoration, it is also often necessary to identify a specific fiber without disrupting live service.

 

The Fiber optic identifier have a slot on the top. The fiber under test is inserted into the slot, then the fiber identifier performs a macro-bend on the fiber. The macro-bend makes some light leak out from the fiber and the optical sensor detects it. The detector can detect both the presence of the light and the direction of light.

 

A fiber optic identifier can detect “no signal”, “tone” or “traffic” and it also indicates the traffic direction. The optical signal loss induced by this technique is so small, usually at 1dB level, that it doesn’t cause any trouble on the live traffic.

 

Fiber optic identifiers can detect 250um bare fibers, 900um tight buffered fibers, 2.0mm fiber cables, 3.0mm fiber cables, bare fiber ribbons and jacketed fiber ribbons. Most fiber identifiers need to change a head fiber optic adapter in order to support all these kinds of fibers and cables. While some other models are cleverly designed and they don’t need to change the head adapter at all. Some models only support single mode fibers and others can support both single mode and multimode fibers.

 

Most high end fiber optic identifiers are equipped with a LCD display which can display the optical power detected. However, this power measurement cannot be used as a accurate absolute power measurement of the optical signal due to inconsistencies in fiber optic cables and the impact of user technique on the measurements.

Why Do We Need Different Categories of Cables?

by Fiber-MART.COM

Though fiber optic cabling is in full swing in recent years, it still can not take the place of the copper cabling completely. As one type of the copper cabling, Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cable is most certainly by far the most popular cable around the world. Because UTP cables are used not only for networking but also for the in television, video, and telephone applications. When we talking UTP cables, we’ll likely come across Cat 5, Cat 5e, and Cat 6 cables with no clue as to what these designations mean. Why are they called as Cat with a number? Are these cables the tails of felines, and the number denotes how many of their nine lives remain? Of course, it is just a joke for the outsider. Cat here is short for “category”, and the number, such as 3, 5, 5e, 6 etc., refers to the generation of twisted pair Ethernet technology. Though it is said that the Cat 5 cable is the most popular of all UTP cables in use today, many new generation of UTP cables still come to the market. This cause us to think why we need different categories of cables?

 

From the above table, we can easily find that except Cat 1, the other categories of cables are designed for computer networking. For instance, Cat 2 is used mostly for token ring networks, supporting speeds up to 4 Mbps. For higher network speeds you must use Cat 4 or Cat 5 cable, but for 10 Mbps Cat 3 will suffice.

 

Actually, Cat 3, Cat 4 and Cat 5 cable are 4 pairs of twisted copper cables and Cat 5 has more twists per inch than Cat 3 therefore can run at higher speeds and greater lengths. The “twist” effect of each pair in the cables will cause any interference presented/picked up on one cable to be cancelled out by the cable’s partner which twists around the initial cable.

 

From Cat 5 cable, UTP cables began to be used in Ethernet application. And Cat 6 cable was originally designed to support gigabit Ethernet, although there are standards that will allow gigabit transmission over Cat 5 cable (here refers to Cat 5e). Though a Cat 5e cable infrastructure will safely accommodate the widely used 10 and 100 Mbps Ethernet protocols, 10BASE-T and 100BASE-T respectively, it may not satisfy the needs of the next Ethernet protocol, gigabit Ethernet (1000BASE-TX). Thus, Cat 6 Cable was developed to ensure 1000BASE-T performance as well as accommodate other protocols.

 

As for the 10 Gigabit Ethernet, Cat 7 cable came to the market. Cat 7 network cabling is used as a cabling infrastructure for 1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet) and 10GBASE-T (10-Gigabit Ethernet) networks. Cat 7a is the enhanced version of Cat 7. It can perform up to frequencies of 1000 MHz and 40 Gbps.

 

Obviously, though fiber optic cable seems like the trend of future cabling, the development of copper cabling do not mean to stop. After seven generation of evolutions, Cat 8 cable was launched to the market in order to satisfy the 40G Ethernet (40GBASE-T). Cat 8 cable will contain four shielded twisted pairs and have a diameter about the same as Cat 6a and Cat 7a cables, but the bandwidth is specified to 2 GHz.

 

If you have read this far, you may clearly know why we need so many categories of cables. Of course, this does not mean that you should buy all of these cables home or you should use copper cabling instead of fiber optic cabling. Different categories of cables are with different characteristics and used for different applications. And copper cabling sometimes seems to be better than fiber optic cabling in short distance. You should choose the right cable according to your application and working environment.

 

fiber-mart is a professional manufacturer and supplier for network solutions, including fiber optic subsystems, components and copper network components. You could find all kinds of UTP cables or fiber optic patch cables, as well as a comprehensive solution of transceiver modules for different Ethernet protocols, such as 1000BASE-T SFP, 1000BASE-SX SFP, etc. For more information, please contact us directly by sending E-mail to sales@fiber-mart.com.

 

Fiber Patch Cable Selection Guide for 40G QSFP+ Transceivers

by Fiber-MART.COM

Numerous things need to be planned and designed for 40G migration. Whether the switches can support such a high speed Ethernet? Which kind of optical transceiver work best on the switches? Which optical transceiver is more cost-saving? Although most servers provided today can support 40G and 40G QSFP+ transceiver (Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable transceiver) are considered to be the most economic and effective transceivers for 40G migration, new problem still arises.

 

Patch Cords Matters to 40G

No matter how advanced the switches are, they all need to be connected together to form the whole 40G transmission network. To accomplish the connections between these switches, patch cords are usually linked to fiber optic transceivers which are plugged in Ethernet switches (as shown in the following picture). The quality of these connections can largely affect the reliability and stability of the whole 40G network. However, connectivity of 40G is much more complex than ever. Thus selecting the proper fiber patch cables for 40G network is more difficult and becomes a big issue in 40G migration. As mentioned, QSFP+ transceivers are suggested for 40G, this article will provide as detailed as possible about fiber patch cable selection for 40G QSFP+ transceivers.

 

Selecting Patch Cords for 40G QSFP+ Transceivers

Patch cords selection is a big issue to 40G not only because the switch connections necessity, but also because of the transmission principle of the fiber optic signals and the high density trend of 40G transmission. Several important factors should be taken into account when selecting patch cords for 40G QSFP+ transceivers, which are cable type, connector type and switch port.

 

Cable Type

 

Performances of optical signals with different wavelengths are often quite different. Even optical signals with the same wavelength perform totally different when they run through different fiber optic cables. Thus, the selection of the cable type is essential.

 

A typical question our customer asked when buying a fiber optical patch cords for 40G QSFP+ transceiver can illustrate this point clearly. Can a 40GBASE universal QSFP+ transceiver working on wavelength of 850nm be used with OM1 patch cords? The answer is yes, but not suggested. Why? As the optical signal transmission distance gets shorter as the data rate increases. The transmission distance and quality would be limited by using OM1 optical cable with 40G QSFP+ transceiver. OM1 cable is only suggested for 100 Mb/s and 1000Mb/s transmission. Two upgraded cables—OM3 and OM4 are suggested for 40G QSFP+ transceivers in short distance.

 

IEEE has announced standards for 40G transmission in both long distance and short distance, which are 40GBASE-SR4 and 40GBASE-LR4. (SR stands for short-reach and LR stands for long reach). The latter is suggested for 40G transmission over single-mode fiber in long distance up to 10km. The former is for 40G transmission in short distance over multimode fiber—OM3 (up to 100 meters) and OM4 (up to 150 meters). OM3 and OM4, which are usually aqua-colored, are accepted economic solutions for 40G in short distance with lower insertion loss and higher bandwidth.

 

Connector Type

 

The connector type of the patch cords should depend on the interface of 40G QSFP+ transceiver. Currently there are two interfaces commonly adopted by 40G QSFP+ transceiver which are MTP and LC. Usually 40G QSFP+ transceiver with MPO interface is designed for short transmission distance and LC for long transmission distance. However, several 40G QSFP+ transceivers like 40GBASE-PLR4 and 40GBASE-PLRL4 have MPO interfaces to support long transmission distance.

 

High density is the most obvious characteristic of 40G transmission, which is largely reflected in the MTP connectors on patch cords used with 40G QSFP+ transceiver. As QSFP+ transceiver uses four 10G channels to achieve the 40G transmission, thus 4 pairs of fibers are used and the 12-fiber MTP connectors can provide a time-save and stable solution for 40G QSFP+ transceivers. However, for multi-fiber connection, polarity should be considered for the selection of the patch cord. Here provide another article named “Understanding Polarity in MPO System” specifically explained MTP patch cords polarity for your reference.

 

However, to meet the market needs, 40G QSFP+ transceiver with LC interface is also available. This type of QSFP transceiver uses four lanes with each carrying 10G in 1310nm window multiplexed to achieve 40G transmission. For this type, patch cable with duplex LC connector should be used.

 

Switch Port

 

The importance of network flexibility gradually reveals as the speed of Ethernet increases. When it comes to 40G, network flexibility becomes an urgent issue which is closely related with applications. Right selection of patch cords for 40G QSFP+ transceiver can increase the network flexibility largely and effectively. Here offer two most common examples in 40G applications. One is 40G QSFP+ to 40G QSFP+ cabling, the other one is 40G QSFP+ to SFP+ cabling.

 

For distance up to 100m, the 40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ transceiver can be used with OM3 fiber patch cable attached with a MPO one each end.

For distance up to 150m, the 40GBASE-SR4 QSFP+ transceiver can be used with OM4 fiber patch cable attached with a MPO one each end.

For distance up to 10km, the 40GBASE-LR4 QSFP+ transceiver can be used with single-mode fiber with LC connectors. The picture above shows the transmission of 40GBASE-LR4 QSFP+ transceiver with LC connector over single-mode fiber.

It’s very common that 40G ports is needed to be connected with 10G port. In this case, fan out patch cable with MTP connector on one end and four LC duplex connectors on the other end is suggested.

 

Conclusion

Cable type, connector type and switch port in selecting the right patch cords for 40G QSFP+ transceivers are necessary and important. They are closely related to the transmission distance, network flexibility and reliability of the whole 40G network. But in practical cabling for 40G QSFP+ transceivers, these three factors are far from enough. Planning and designing takes a lot of time and may not achieve results good enough. However, fiber-mart can solve your problems with professional one-stop service including the cost-effective and reliable network designing and 40G products.

40G QSFP+ Direct Attach Copper Cabling

by Fiber-MART.COM

Today’s enterprise data centers and networking environments are undergoing an infrastructure transformation, requiring higher speeds, greater scalability, and higher levels of performance and reliability to better meet the demands of business. As speed and performance needs increase, modern copper cables have become an integral part of overall system design. QSFP+ direct attach copper breakout cables are designed to meet emerging data center and high performance computing application needs for a short distance and high density cabling interconnect system capable of delivering an aggregate data bandwidth of 40Gb/s. These high speed cables provide a highly cost-effective way to upgrade from 10G to 40G or 40G to 40G interconnect connection.

 

How to Use a 40G QSFP+ Direct Attach Copper Cable QSFP+ direct attach copper cables can be mainly divided into two types. One is QSFP+ to 4 SFP+ direct attach breakout copper cable, and the other is QSFP+ to QSFP+ direct attach copper cable. In fact, there is a third type QSFP+ direct attach copper cable called QSFP+ to 4 XFP breakout cable. Since it is not common, this article may not make discussion. However, regardless of what type of cables, they are both used to connect switch to switch or switch to sever. For a QSFP+ to 4 SFP+ direct attach breakout copper cable, it has a QSFP+ connector on one end and four SFP+ connectors on the other end. In terms of a QSFP+ to QSFP+ direct attach copper cable, it has a QSFP+ connector on both ends of the cable. When we use a fiber optic transceiver and patch cable to establish a fiber link, we should firstly plug the transceiver to the switch and then plug the patch cable to the transceiver. But for a QSFP+ direct attach copper cable, either SFP+ connector or QSFP+ connector, can be both directly inserted into the switch and don’t need a transceiver at all, which provides a really cost-effective solution for interconnecting high speed 40G switches to existing 10G equipment or 40G switches to 40G switches.

 

40G QSFP+ to 4 SFP+ Direct Attach Copper Cabling The move from 10G to 40G Ethernet will be a gradual one. It is very likely that one may deploy switches that have 40G Ethernet ports while the servers still have 10G Ethernet ports. For that situation, we should use a QSFP+ to 4 SFP+ direct attach breakout copper cable. These cables connect to a 40G QSFP port of a switch on one end and to four 10G SFP+ ports of a switch on the other end, which allows a 40G Ethernet port to be used as four independent 10G ports thus providing increased density while permitting backward compatibility and a phased upgrade of equipment. As a lower cost alternative to MTP/MPO breakouts for short reach applications up to 5 meters, it helps IT organizations achieve new levels of infrastructure consolidation while expanding application and service capabilities.

 

40G QSFP+ to QSFP+ Direct Attach Copper Cabling QSFP+ to QSFP+ direct attach copper cable are suitable for very short distances and offer a highly cost-effective way to establish a 40G link between QSFP+ ports of QSFP+ switches within racks and across adjacent racks. These cables connect to a 40G QSFP port of a switch on one end and to another 40G QSFP port of a switch on the other end. Supporting similar applications to SFP+, these four-lane high speed interconnects were designed for high density applications at 10Gb/s transmission speeds per lane. One QSFP+ to QSFP+ direct attach copper cable link is equivalent to 4 SFP+ cable links, providing greater density and reduced system cost. Passive and active QSFP+ to QSFP+ direct attach copper cables are both available. With a active QSFP+ to QSFP+ direct attach copper cable assembly, the connection is capable of distances of up to 10 meters.

 

Besides 40G QSFP+ to 4 SFP+ and QSFP+ to QSFP+ direct attach copper cables, fiber-mart also provide other high speed cables such as 10G SFP+ direct attach cables, 40G QSFP+ to 4 XFP breakout copper cables and 40G QSFP+ to 8xLC breakout active optical cables. All these cables work with Cisco or other third-party switches. For more information, welcome to visit www.fiber-mart.com or contact us via sales@fiber-mart.com.

Everything You Need to Know Before Buying CWDM and DWDM SFP+ Transceivers

by Fiber-MART.COM

It is known to us that WDM (Wavelength-division Multiplexing) can increase network bandwidth by allowing data streams at different frequencies to be sent over a single optical fiber. With the advent of this technology, different wavelengths can be assigned to optical modules like CWDM SFP+ transceiver and DWDM SFP+ transceiver, thus expanding and optimizing the network capacity. This post aims to be a buyer’s guide of CWDM and DWDM 10G SFP+ module selection.

 

CWDM and DWDM SFP+ Transceiver Basics

Both CWDM SFP+ and DWDM SFP+ transceivers are based on the popular SFP form factor. They are commonly used in 10G Ethernet and all can reach a maximum speed of 11.25G. However, they are different in such aspects as wavelength, distance, and application.

 

10G CWDM SFP+ transceiver often operates at a nominal wavelength of CWDM wavelength. To be specific, CWDM SFP+ transceiver can support 18 wavelengths from 1270nm to 1610nm, and its transmission distance is from 20km to 80km. It is an important part in CWDM system. To learn more details about 10G CWDM SFP+ transceivers in CWDM system, you may read: How to Install Your CWDM MUX/DEMUX System

 

10G DWDM SFP+ transceiver operates at nominal DWDM wavelengths from CH17-CH61, supporting a transmission distance up to 80km. It is specifically designed for carriers and large enterprises that require a scalable, flexible, cost-effective system for multiplexing, transporting and protecting high-speed data, storage, voice and video applications. Since the wavelengths for DWDM network is boarder, 10G tunable DWDM SFP+ transceiver is also available in DWDM system, which can change the channel according to actual needs.

 

How to Select and Buy CWDM and DWDM SFP+ Transceiver on the Market

CWDM SFP+ or DWDM SFP+

CWDM SFP+ can typically support up to 18 channels, while DWDM SFP+ can support more than 40 channels on one strand of fiber. Although customers can gain more capacity and longer link distance from the DWDM SFP+, they have to pay more since cost of it is more expensive than CWDM SFP+. For customers that don’t require a long transmission distance, CWDM SFP+ may be the first choice. But in the long-term, DWDM SFP+ serves the future trend for high-density network better.

 

CWDM and DWDM SFP+ Transceiver Price

Compared with normal SFP+ modules, CWDM and DWDM SFP+ are more expensive due to the cost brought by different working modes. And as it has been mentioned before, CWDM SFP+ tends to be cheaper than DWDM SFP+. And generally speaking, the longer the supported transmission range is, the more expensive it would be for CWDM or DWDM transceivers. Also, transceivers from a third-party CWDM and DWDM SFP factory are much cheaper than the original manufacturers. Therefore, to purchase compatible modules can help you save a large sum of money.

 

CWDM and DWDM SFP+ Transceiver Supplier

As mentioned above, affordable transceivers can bring you a big save, but you need to pay attention to the reliability. Although the price for compatible modules is nice, not all of them on the market are qualified. If you don’t want to go “buy cheap, buy twice”, you need a reliable supplier. Reputed third-party suppliers like fiber-mart.COM have their own test labs to ensure the compatibility and quality of the transceiver. Customers can also enjoy after sale service and warranty from these trustworthy CWDM SFP+ suppliers.

 

Common Questions When Buying and Using CWDM and DWDM SFP+ transceivers?

1. How About the Price of CWDM SFP+ Transceiver and DWDM SFP+ Transceivers?

 

Generally speaking, the branded CWDM and DWDM transceivers are much expensive than compatible ones. Here we take Cisco CWDM-SFP10G-1470 and Cisco DWDM-SFP10G-61.41 for example. The prices for the original ones are $1500 and $2,345, while CWDM SFP10G 1470 from fiber-mart.COM only takes $360 and $369 respectively.

 

2. Do Cisco Switches Have to Be Used with Original Cisco CWDM SFP+?

 

No. There are many compatible transceivers provided by third party transceiver supplier that you can adopt to replace Cisco CWDM SFP+ or even Cisco DWDM SFP+. If you can get your transceivers from a reliable third-party supplier, they will be just as dependable as the Cisco branded ones, but for a fraction of the price.

 

3.Is It Possible to Convert the Conventional Wavelength like 850nm into DWDM or CWDM Wavelength?

 

Yes. If you need to convert the wavelengths into CWDM or DWDM wavelengths, you can employ an OEO converter to make this happen. OEO converter realizes wavelength conversion based on the O-E-O transformation technology.

 

4. How to Choose Between 100GHz and 50GHz in DWDM Channel Spacing?

 

Compared with 50GHz, the 100GHz C-Band is the commonly used in the telecom industry. The spacing between the channels is 0.8nm and it’s around 1550nm. The colors or wavelength are named in channels and channel 17 to 61 is commonly used. The 50GHz with 0.4nm spacing and other spectrum bands can be provided by most manufacturers as well.

 

5. How to Select the Suitable Fiber Cables for CWDM and DWDM SFP+ Transceivers?

 

Fiber optic cables can be categorized into two types: single-mode and multimode fiber optic cables. The former is normally used for long-distance transmission while the latter for short-distance transmission. For CWDM and DWDM SFP+ transceiver, which can support a link up to 80km, we choose single-mode fiber cables terminated with LC connector.

 

6. Is There a Difference Among CWDM and DWDM Wavelengths for Transmission Quality? Which Wavelengths Are Better?

 

Yes. Different wavelength may deliver different transmission quality. Generally speaking, 1470nm and 1550nm are the most widely used wavelength, with 1550nm being more popular since the attenuation of 1550nm is lesser and ensures better transmission quality in long-distance application.

 

Buy CWDM and DWDM SFP+ Transceivers With Less Money and Fewer Worries

As it has been mentioned before, to purchase compatible transceivers from a reliable source can be a real money-saver. The following table displays the information of compatible CWDM and DWDM SFP+ Transceivers from fiber-mart.COM.

 

Also, fiber-mart.COM provides customized services, including SFP vendor name, interface type, distance, wavelength, DDM/DOM, temperature, label, label design, and shipping package. If you need customized service or you’re unsure of which type you need, you can contact fiber-mart.COM and they will help you.

 

As a leading supplier for optical products, fiber-mart.COM can provide all the equipment you need for building a CWDM or DWDM network. And all these products are assured with a warranty and return policy.

FTTH Architecture P2P and PON

by Fiber-MART.COM

FTTH (Fiber To The Home) has changed a lot in the way we live and work. When planning an installation, many factors should be taken into consideration, such as regulation, implementation cost, the need to future-proof investment and so on. This blog will mainly focus on two main FTTH architectures–point to point (P2P) and passive optical network (PON) as one of the suggestions for FTTH deployment.

 

Why Need FTTH Deployment?

Currently, the requirements for higher internet access speeds are increasing by various applications, such as cable TV, Movie Streaming, Multi player Gaming, Video Conferencing, 3D, etc. Apparently the transmission capacity of copper cables is limited and can’t meet the the needs of higher bandwidth. So fiber cables soon become the substitutes of copper cables. FTTH technology uses optical fiber cable from a central point directly to individual buildings such as residences, apartment buildings and businesses to provide unprecedented high-speed Internet access. FTTH dramatically improves the network speeds available to computer users compared with technologies now used in most places.

 

What Are P2P and PON?

Before deploying FTTH networks, let’s take a look at two main FTTH infrastructure types P2P and PON. In short, P2P architecture uses all active components throughout the chain & point to multi-point (P2M) and PON architecture uses passive optical splitters at the aggregation layer.

 

In a PON network architecture, an optical line terminal (OLT) will be deployed in the Point of Presence (POP) or central office. One fiber cable connects the passive optical splitter and the fan-outs connect end users (a maximum of 64) with each one having an Optical Networking Unit (ONU) at the point where the fiber cable terminates.

 

While a P2P architecture is more complex. It has a core switch at the central office, which connects over optical fiber cables to an aggregation switch at the distribution point (typically located at a street corner). These aggregation switches have many fiber ports and each port directly connects to an Optical Network Termination (ONT), which is located inside or outside the user’s residence or business premises.

 

Advantages and Disadvantages of P2P and PON

To decide which kind of architecture to choose, more details should be known. Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages. The following will list the strengths and weaknesses to make the decision.

 

Advantages of P2P

First, each port of the aggregation switch is dedicated to individual users. So there is no sharing. It means each port can get higher bandwidth.

Second, P2P provides symmetrical bandwidth, with identical upload and download capacity. That’s quite important to the applications, for example, HD video conferencing and peer-to-peer file sharing, etc.

P2P is a standard technology and the bandwidth of each port can be set or controlled. Therefore, users can get the bandwidth as they require.

P2P can reach longer signals transmission distance with fiber cable, maybe more than 100 km.

It’s easier to locate and troubleshoot the fault over P2P network line with an OTDR (Optical Time Domain Reflectometer).

P2P is future-proofed for it can be upgraded with the bandwidth and capacity growing.

Disadvantages of P2P

P2P increases more costs since this architecture need more components.

P2P requires longer rollout time as it needs more street cabinets than PON. And that can also lead to higher capital expenditure.

Advantages of PON

PON network spends less than P2P for implementation and maintenance. Because it uses fewer active ports to terminated fiber and needs fewer fiber cables.

The passive fiber optical splitters don’t need power supply, so they can be located anywhere in the field according to the project requirements. It’s more flexible.

As the architecture is is not as complex as P2P, so it would be easier and faster for the PON network infrastructure deployment.

With encryption, each connection of PON has higher security.

PON gives considerably high downstream bandwidth and low upstream bandwidth similar to current broadband technologies. For instance, GPON can deliver up to 2.5 Gbps of downstream bandwidth and 1 Gbps of upstream bandwidth which shall be shared by 32 or 64 users.

Disadvantages of PON

The bandwidth offered by PON infrastructure is limited because the bandwidth is shared by multiple subscribers.

The bandwidth is asymmetric. The download capacity is much greater than the upload one.

It’s more difficult to upgrade a PON network once it’s implemented, especially when the bandwidth requirements change.

As optical splitters have both bandwidth limitations (particularly upstream) and cause high attenuation losses, they are likely to be out of data compared with a P2P architecture.

Summary

The above content shows information about the advantages and disadvantages of FTTH P2P and PON architectures. When designing the architectures, network operators should balance the strengths and weaknesses of both types. If you need a future-proof infrastructure, you better select P2P. Besides, cost and network efficiency are also the factors to decide which architecture is more suitable. Actually, architectures design may depend on many other situations. Hope this article is helpful for you.

How to Use Field Assembly Connector?

by Fiber-MART.COM

The expansion of FTTH application has brought prosperity to the manufacturing of field assembly connectors for fast field termination. This type of connector gains its popularity due to the applicability to cable wiring and compact bodies which are easily stored in optical fiber housings. With excellent features of stability and low loss, field assembly connector has now become a reliable and durable solution for fiber optic systems. However, do you really know the field assembly process of the connector? This article provides an easy guide to show you the way of using field assembly connector.

 

Introduction to Field Assembly Connector

Before getting to know the instruction process, let’s have a look at the basic knowledge about field assembly connector. Field assembly connector or fast connector is an innovative field installable optical fiber connector designed for simple and fast field termination of single fibers. Without using additional assembling tools, field assembly connector can be quickly and easily connected to the drop cable and indoor cable, which saves a lot of required termination time. It is specially designed with the patented mechanical splice body that includes a factory-mounted fiber stub and a pre-polished ceramic ferrule. Field assembly connector is usually available for 250 µm, 900 µm, 2.0 mm and 3.0 mm diameter single-mode and multimode fiber types. The whole installation process only takes about 2 minutes which greatly improves the working efficiency.

 

Internal Structure of Field Assembly Connector

From the following figure, we can see the specific internal structure of field assembly connector. The ferrule end face of the connector is pre-polished in a factory for later connection with the fiber. A mechanical splice is also formed at the end of the ferrule for mechanical fixation of optical fiber. The mechanical splice consists two plates, one with a V groove, another with flat surface above the V groove, and a clamp for the insertion of the two plates. When inserting the fiber, a wedge clip will keep the V groove open for easier installation. After the fiber insertion, the wedge clip can be extracted from the V groove.

 

Features and Applications

Key Features

Field-installable, cost-effective, user-friendly

No requirement for epoxy and polishing

Quick and easy fiber termination in the field

No need for fusion splicer, power source and tool for pressure

Visual indication of proper termination

Applications

Fiber optic telecommunication

Fiber distribution frame

FTTH outlets

Optical cable interconnection

Cable television

Field Assembly Instruction Guide

Although it is an simple way to use field assembly connector, the right operation process is also important. Here will introduce some basic steps for connector installation.

 

Step 1, prepare the field assembly connector parts and related tools required during the process. There is no need for special tools, but fiber cleaver and jacket stripper are still necessary.

 

Step 2, insert the connector boot into the fiber cable.

 

Step 3, cut and reserve 10mm bare fiber by fiber cleaver and then make sure the total fiber length of 30 mm.

 

Step 4, insert the fiber from bottom until the stopper and make fiber present micro bend.

 

Step 5, press the press cover to tight the bare fiber.

 

Step 6, lock the boot with yarn.

 

Step 7, cut the yarn.

 

Step 8, screw the boot and put on housing to complete assembly.

 

Precautions

Here are some precautions for you to notice during the process:

 

Point 1, the product is sensitive to dirt and dust. Keeping it away from any possible contamination is necessary.

 

Point 2, the performance will be influenced by the fiber cutting surface condition. Use a cutter with a sharp blade for the best results.

 

Point 3, insert the fiber into the connector slowly. If the fiber is roughly inserted, it might be damaged or broken, leading to failure of connector installation. Broken fiber could scatter in all directions.

 

Point 4, do not remove the dust cap until the connector has been completely assembled in order not to cause a high insertion loss.

 

Point 5, a proper amount of index matching gel is applied in the connector. Do not insert fiber more than once into connector.

 

Conclusion

Fiber assembly connector enables quick termination to improve reliable and high connector performance in FTTH wiring and LAN cabling systems. All the above solutions provided by fiber-mart.COM are available to meet your requirements. Please visit the website for more information.

40CH DWDM Mux Insertion Loss Testing

by Fiber-MART.COM

DWDM, which can add great capacity of bandwidth for long haul backbone data center by multiplexing different wavelengths into one fiber, is one of the dominant technology used in various applications. When purchasing a DWDM Mux Demux, one of the vital parameters that need to be considered is the insertion loss. Higher insertion loss means more investment in DWDM network deployment. This post focuses on the insertion loss testing of 40CH DWDM Mux to offer some help for your DWDM Mux Demux purchase.

 

Understand DWDM Mux Insertion Loss

As its name shows, insertion loss is the total optical power loss (often measured by dB) caused by the insertion of an optical component. Any component in a fiber optic interconnection will introduce loss definitely. For example, insertion loss of a connector or splice is the difference in power that we can see when inserting the component into the system. The insertion loss is affected by the fiber core meter on the transmit and receive end, as well as the receive conditions in two joint fibers.

 

In a completed network, the total loss comes not only from the optical connectors, but also from optical cables and the diverse ports of optical components inserted. As we all know, there are several types port on 40CH DWDM Mux Demux: line port, channel port and monitor port, some Muxes may have other function ports like 1310nm port, 1510nm port and expansion port. No matter which type of ports is connected to a DWDM system, some insertion loss occurs. Therefore, in order to ensure good performance of a whole DWDM optical link, a high quality DWDM Mux Demux should have a reasonable insertion loss value.

 

Insertion Loss Comparison in Different Vendors

If you are familiar with DWDM Mux Demux, you may know how great impact the insertion loss of them has on the whole network links. The higher the DWDM channel insertion loss is, the more cost may be needed, for optical amplifiers are required to keep a balance signal power in the link. And there are many vendors and suppliers of 40CH DWDM Mux in the market. Here is a graph showing the maximum insertion loss value of 40CH DWDM Mux of different vendors.

 

In a DWDM networks, the budget loss mainly comes from optical fiber path loss, DWDM OADM and Mux/Demux. If the loss of them is high, the network deployment cost will get higher certainly. In this graph, the vertical axis stands for the max insertion loss, and the horizontal axis shows several DWDM Mux vendors or suppliers like Cisco, Finisar, MRV, fiber-mart.COM, etc. From this comparison, we can see all the max insertion loss of 40CH DWDM Mux are not very high. The max insertion loss of MRV is 7.5dB, Cisco is 6.5dB and Finisar is 5dB. But compared with these vendors or suppliers, fiber-mart.COM 40CH DWDM Mux has the lowest max insertion loss—4.5dB. Besides, the typical insertion loss of fiber-mart.COM 40CH DWDM Mux is only 3dB. All these indicate that fiber-mart.COM 40CH DWDM Mux is perfect for long haul DWDM transmission.

 

How to Do Insertion Loss Testing for 40CH DWDM Mux Demux

Since insertion loss has profound influence on the whole optical networks, knowing how to test the insertion loss of 40CH DWDM Mux Demux is important. And the testing can be finished with an optical power meter if no professional equipment is available. Here offers a video to illustrate the insertion loss testing of our 40CH DWDM Mux, which uses Cisco Catalyst 4948E switch and our Cisco C25 compatible 10G DWDM SFP+ and C60 DWDM SFP+ modules that support 80km as light sources. This testing just takes channel 25 port and channel 60 port as examples to explain the testing method.

 

Summary

High quality, low insertion loss 40CH DWDM Muxs can not only manage bandwidth and expand capacity of existing optical backbones, but also save cost in DWDM network design. fiber-mart.COM 40CH DWDM Mux is a high density, low insertion loss passive modules, providing an ideal solution for DWDM networks. Custom services are also available. If you are interested, welcome to visit our website www.fiber-mart.com or contact us via sales@fiber-mart.com for more detailed information.

Maintance Methods Of Fusion Splicer Parts

by Fiber-MART.COM

The most common parts of a fiber fusion splicer include Electrodes and V-Grooves. Fusion splicers are dependent upon high-quality electrodes to focus that critical arc of electricity. As the electrodes wear from use, electrodes gradually worn and lead to weaker splices and higher splice losses. Cleaning electrode is part of the essential maintenance of fusion splicer and will not restore the performance of the fusion splicer as electrodes need to be replaced.

 

Always replace fusion splicer electrodes as a pair. For optimal performance, electrodes should also be aligned when they are replaced. This is a tuning process to maximise the performance of your splicer.

 

The Maintance Methods Of Fiber Fusion Splicer Parts:

1. Electrical welding electrode life is generally about 2000, after a long time the electrode will be oxidized, resulting in the discharge current is too large leaving the splice loss value increases. You can remove the electrodes, medical cotton wool dipped in alcohol to gently wipe and then install the fusion splicer, and discharge cleaned once. If repeated washing, the discharge current is still too large, it shall replace the electrode.

 

Replace the electrode first remove the protection of the electrode chamber cover, loosen the screws fixed on the electrode, remove the upper electrode. Then release the top wire fixed to the lower electrode, remove the lower electrode. Installation of new electrode opposite action of the demolition order, require two electrode tip clearance: 2.6 ± 0.2mm, with the optical fiber symmetry. Under normal circumstances electrode is not required to be adjusted. Not touch the tip of the electrode in the replacement process, prevent damage, and should avoid the electrodes to fall inside the machine. After replacing the electrode to carry out calibration of the arc position.

 

Care of the electrode used for a long time, the tip of the electrode will produce sediment discharge poor, then there will be a “hissing” sound, then need to clean the electrode. The recommended the regular welding machine electrodes care that clean the electrode.

 

2. 4 clean V-shaped groove welding machine tune the core direction of the upper and lower driving range each only tens of microns, slightly foreign body will make the fiber image deviation from the normal position, resulting in normal alignment. At this time the need for timely clean the V-groove:

 

a. Off the windshield of the welding machine.

 

b. Open the fiber optic pressure head and the clamping platen.

 

c. Stick with a cotton swab dipped in anhydrous alcohol (or sharpened toothpick) single wipe in a V-Groove Fiber Aligner.

 

Note: Avoid using hard objects to clean the V-groove or V-groove on the force, to avoid bad V-groove or V-groove inaccurate, resulting in the instrument can not properly use.

 

Proper use of Fusion Splicer is to reduce an important guarantee of the optical fiber splice loss and key links. You always should be strictly in accordance with the instructions of the welding machine and operational procedures. And properly set the welding parameters according to the type of fiber (including pre-discharge current, time and the main discharge current, the main discharge time). Do as above, the working life of your fusion splicer certain can be longer.

How to Replace Electrodes for Fusion Splicing Machine

by Fiber-MART.COM

Electrodes are the most essential consumable of fusion splicing machine. In general, after a period of use, it needs to be replaced. This is the basic maintenance of fusion splicing machine. Thus, users of fusion splicing machines should have the ability to judge when to replace electrodes and master the maintenance knowledge of replacing electrodes. This post will guide you how to judge when to replace the electrodes and explain the replacing steps by taking example of the latest Fujikura fusion splicing machine fiber-mart M-80S.

 

When to Replace Electrodes of Your Fusion Splicing Machine

What’s the best time to replace the electrodes of your fusion splicing machine, and how do you know when to replace it? Different users have different methods according to their working experiences. But the most basic method to judge when to replace the electrodes will be introduced here. Generally, there are two basic ways to judge whether the fusion splicing machine needs to be replaced its electrodes.

 

There is a function of a fusion splicing machine called arc discharge count. Electrodes should be replaced after reaching the manufactures recommended arc discharges. In general, the fusion splicing machine will alarm to remind users to replace the electrodes in that case. You should replace the electrodes of your fusion splicing machine when you see this alarm. Otherwise, splicing loss and quality will be effected.

 

Users can confirm whether the electrodes need to be replaced through some abnormal conditions during using. For example, if you find that your fusion splicing machine often prompt discharge not stable during the splicing, or discharge correction can not pass normally, or even the tip of the electrodes are oxidate severely and bald, you should replace the electrodes in those cases.

 

How to Replace Electrodes of Fusion Splicing Machine

Electrodes Replacing Steps

We can see the electrodes replacing steps in the following picture. It shows us the electrodes replacing steps of the Fujikura latest fiber-martM-80S fusion splicing machine.

 

Tips for Replacing Electrodes

 

Ensure to use the appropriate sized screwdriver to remove the fixing screws of the electrodes fixture. Because long-term use of an unsuitable screwdriver to remove the screw may cause the screw to be stripped which may affect the later disassembly.

Avoid excessive pressure when locking the screw, otherwise screw also will be stripped so that the later disassembly is inconvenience.

When installing the electrodes, tighten screws no more than finger tight while pushing the electrode collars against the electrode fixtures, Incorrect installation of the electrodes may result in greater splice loss or damage to the circuit.

Be careful not to damage the electrodes shaft or tips. Any damaged electrodes should be discarded

Always replace fusion splicer electrodes as a pair.

 

 

After replacing the electrodes, it’s necessary to stabilize the electrode and conduct discharge correction in order to make sure that the new electrodes perform well. These can usually be done through instructions of the fusion splicing machine. In addition, we should use the discharge correction feature to get the best discharge power of the machine in daily use.

 

fiber-mart Fiber Optic Splicing Solutions

Fiber optic splicing is an important part of fiber optic cabling. fiber-mart offers a comprehensive fiber optic splicing solution, from devices to tools, and even the management products (e.g. fiber optic splice closure and other fiber optic panels). Except the fiber-martM-80S fusion splicing machine mentioned above, fiber-mart offers several famous splicing machine brand, such as INNO, Sumitomo, Fujikura, Jilong and so on. Additionally, other tools related to fiber optic splicing including fiber optic cleavers, blades, aligners and splicing tool kits are offered in fiber-mart. AC adapter, battery charge cord and the replacement electrodes are also available. For more details, please visit our fiber-mart.com or contact us over sales@fiber-mart.com.

Optical Power Meter – an Essential Tester for Fiber Optic Testing

by Fiber-MART.COM

In fiber optic network, whether installing new cable, or troubleshooting existing cable, cable testing always plays an important role in the process. Optical power meter which is widely used for power measurement and loss testing is well known to us. Today, we are going to talk about this familiar and essential fiber optic tester—optical power meter, in details.

 

As its name suggests, optical power meter is a meter which is used for testing optical power. So, what is optical power? And how to measure power by using optical power meter?

 

Optical Power

In simple terms, optical power is the brightness or “intensity” of light. In optical networking, optical power is measured in “dBm” which refers to a decibel relative to 1 milliwatt (mW) of power. Thus a source with a power level of 0 dBm has a power of 1 mW. Likewise, 3 dBm is 2 mW and -3 dBm is 0.5 mW, etc. And one more thing should be known is that 0 mW is negative infinity dBm.

 

Using Optical Power Meter for Power Measurement

 

Measuring power at the transmitter or receiver requires only an optical power meter, an adapter for the fiber optic connector on the cables used, and the ability to turn on the network electronics.

 

The optical power meter must be set to the proper range (usually dBm, but sometimes mW) and the proper wavelength when measuring power. When all are ready, attach the optical power meter to the cable at the receiver to measure receiver power, or to a short test cable that is attached to the system source to measure transmitter power. Mark the value, and compare it to the specified power for the system and make sure it is in the acceptable range for the system.

 

In addition to measuring optical power, optical power meter can be used to test optical lost by using together with light source. What is optical loss and how does the optical power meter achieve loss testing?

 

Optical Loss

When light travels through fiber, some energy is lost, e.g., absorbed by the glass particles and converted to heat; or scattered by microscopic imperfections in the fiber. We call this loss of intensity “attenuation”. Attenuation is measured in dB loss per length of cable. dB is a ratio of two powers. Even the best connectors and splices aren’t perfect. Thus, every time we connect two fibers together, we get loss. We called this loss as insertion loss which is the attenuation caused by the insertion of the device such as a splice or connection point to a cable. Actual loss depends on your fiber connector and mating conditions. Additionally, insertion loss is also used to describe loss from Mux since it is the “penalty you pay just for inserting the fiber”.

 

Using Optical Power Meter and Light Source for Loss Testing

 

Loss of a cable is the difference between the power coupled into the cable at the transmitter end and what comes out at the receiver end. But Loss testing requires not only optical power meter, but also a light source. In general, multimode fiber is tested at 850 nm and optionally at 1300 nm with LED sources. Single-mode fiber is tested at 1310 nm and optionally at 1550 nm with laser sources. The measured loss is compared to the loss budget, namely estimated loss calculated for the link. In addition, in order to measure loss, it is necessary to create reproducible test conditions for testing fibers and connectors that simulate actual operating conditions. This simulation is created by choosing an appropriate source and mating a launch reference cable with a calibrated launch power that becomes the “0 dB” loss reference to the source.

 

There are two methods used to measure loss which are called “single-ended loss” and “double-ended loss”. Single-ended loss works by using only the launch cable while the double-ended loss works using a received cable attached to the meter also. The method “signle-ended loss” is described in FOTP-171. By using this method, you can test the loss of the connector mated to the launch cable and the loss of any fiber, splices or other connectors in the cable you are testing. Thus, it is the best possible method of testing patchcords, since it tests each connector individually. The method “double-ended loss” is specified in Ofiber-martTP-14. In this way, you can measure loss of two connectors and the loss of all the cable or cables, including connectors and splices in between. The following picture shows these two methods to us. From left to right: Single-ended loss testing (Patch Cord), Double-ended loss testing (installed cable plants).

 

Optical Power Meter Selection Guide

As described above, optical power meter is very useful and necessary for fiber optic testing such as optical power measurement and loss testing. Thus, to select a suitable optical power meter is very important. According to the user’s specific application, several points should be considered when choosing an optical power meter:

 

Choosing optical power meter with the best type of detector and interface

Evaluation of calibration and precision as well as the manufacturing calibration procedures should match your fiber and connector requirement

Make sure that the model of the meter is consistent with your measurement range and the display resolution

Whether have a direct insertion loss (dB) measurement function

In addition to optical power meter and light source, other tools such as launch cable, mating adapters, visual fault locator or fiber tracer, cleaning and inspection kits as well as other testers are also required for fiber optic testing. Fiberstore offers a comprehensive solution of fiber optic testers and tools which help you achieve a reliable and valuable fiber optic system. Contact us via sales@fiber-mart.com for more information.